cut (one) off without a penny

cut (one) off without a penny

To exclude or disinherit one from someone's will or the fortune of one's family. My parents have threatened to cut me off without a penny once I turn 30, so I really need to find a job. If you continue to fight with your mother like this, she may just cut you off without a penny. My father never liked that I gave up medicine to become a writer, and so he cut me off without a penny.

See also: cut, off, penny, without

cut off without a penny

dated cliché Intentionally excluded or disinherited from someone's will or the fortune of one's family. The young duke, cut off without a penny, sailed to America to seek a new life without the aid or influence of his family. My father never liked that I gave up medicine to become a writer, so I was cut off without a penny when he died. Once his deceptive practices with the family business were discovered, Reginald was cut off without a penny.

See also: cut, off, penny, without

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

cut someone off without a penny

Fig. to end someone's allowance; to fail to leave someone money in one's will. Mr. and Mrs. Franklin cut their son off without a penny after he quit school. They cut off both of their sons without a penny. We learned, when Uncle Sam's will was read, that he cut off his own flesh and blood without a penny.

See also: cut, off, penny, without

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.